Greetings, sweet sisters! Today, you are hearing from one of my very own Heart Sisters – Mandy Pagano. Mandy is a wonderful blessing in my life – I know you will love her authentic heart, willing and honest transparency and love of God. She is a gift from Him to me.
Too many nights I’ve laid awake rehearsing tragedy after tragedy in my mind and how I would handle them when and if they arose.
I’ve mentally walked through how I would rescue my six children should we have a fire. I’ve obsessed over how I would unbuckle and swim all of my kids to safety should our car careen off a bridge and crash into the water below.
I’ve rehashed countless times how I would feel if something ever happened to one of my children. As the vivid pictures played in my mind, I could actually feel the agony and despair as if it were really happening.
I’ve gasped out loud as a fleeting, yet realistic, vision assaulted my thoughts. I’ve had to remind myself that nothing has happened and it was all in my head.
Have you ever been there? Have you imagined a tragedy so realistic that, for a moment, you grieved as if it were real? Have you felt the cold fingers of fear grip you so tightly that you cannot breathe and tears fill your eyes?
I have.
I’ve struggled with fear and anxiety my entire life, but it’s worsened since I’ve become a mother. Suddenly, I’ve become an expert at mentally calculating every terrible event that could take place at any given moment.
About a year ago, I decided I’d had enough. I knew what I was feeling wasn’t healthy. I wasn’t sure how to address it head-on, but I knew God would be at the center of it. So, I took to the Bible and began digging through scripture to see what God has to say about fear and anxiety.
As it turns out, God has a LOT to say about those things! And what He has to say floored me – and changed my life.
I’m not exaggerating . . . God’s Holy Word has changed my faith. It has strengthened my relationship with the Lord and has caused me to look closer at how I view Him.
Do you struggle with fear and anxiety, too? Are you ready to attack them head-on? I welcome any and all who would like to join me in this journey by downloading the FREE eBook, The Anxious Mom, .
The Lord walked me through some tough questions like:
- Do I really trust God?
- Is my faith conditional?
- Am I hoping to live a life devoid of pain and discomfort?
- Am I really willing to serve the Lord at any cost?
- Am I really willing to take up my cross and follow Jesus?
I had no idea when this study began that those questions, and more importantly the answers to those questions, were integral to combating this affliction. God, in his infinite grace and mercy, gently, yet firmly, pointed me toward Himself.
While I am not “cured” of my stronghold (and may never be this side of Heaven), I am at a place where I know the Truth and can talk myself through these attacks.
I pray this eBook will be a help in the journey of calming your anxious heart. I pray you will find peace and security in our unchanging God.
Mandy Pagano is wife to Joe and mom to six kids. She and her family reside in a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She loves writing and sharing God’s extravagant love with others. When she isn’t shuttling half of her children from one soccer practice to another or freelancing in image design and virtual assisting, she teaches preschoolers and leads a women’s Bible study at her church, fronts an online women’s blogging ministry at Deliberate Women, contributes to Overcomer Outreach and Ungrind Webzine, and blogs her heart out on her personal blog Suburban Stereotype. Hers is a busy life, but one she wouldn’t trade for anything.
